The Supreme Court victories in the Masterpiece Cakeshop and NIFLA vs. Becerracases were significant, but as we described last week on BreakPoint, they didn’t settle the biggest questions about the future of religious freedom. And so we still await the fates of Christians like Barronelle Stutzman and others. As we wait, we should also keep our eye on other challenges to religious freedom.

One challenge concerns the interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an act that prohibits discrimination in matters of employment on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”

It was about a year ago on BreakPoint that I mentioned how in Title VII, the words “sexual orientation” are conspicuous by their absence. This absence has not gone unnoticed by LGBT activists, who’ve made one of their top legislative priorities to amend federal anti-discrimination laws so that they include sexual orientation and gender identity among the protected classes.

So far, their efforts have gotten nowhere. So, they’ve now turned to the judiciary. Last year, the Seventh Circuit, in a breathtaking bit of linguistic and logical contortion, stretched the meaning of the word “sex” to include sexual orientation.

Never mind that Congress had declined to amend Title VII to include sexual orientation. In fact, one judge even had the audacity to write that federal judges were not “merely the obedient servants” of Congress. With their radical decision and its linguistic gymnastics, these judges were “taking advantage of what the last half century has taught.”

All of that, of course, is the definition of “judicial tyranny.”

More recently, two more circuit courts weighed in. The Second Circuit reached the same conclusion as the Seventh while the Eleventh Circuit reached the opposite conclusion. Now we have what is known as a “conflict in the Circuits,” in which the meaning of Title VII depends on where you live. So eventually, the Supreme Court will have to settle the issue.

A lot will be riding on what they decide.

Currently, 29 out of 50 states don’t have laws barring “discrimination” on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. In these states, Christians don’t face the kind of difficult choices that Jack Phillips and Barronelle Stutzman did.

If the Supreme Court agrees with the Seventh and Second Circuits, these twenty-nine states will have such a law imposed on them from above, just like those states that did not recognize same-sex marriage experienced with the Obergefell decision.

While Title VII only applies to employment-related decisions, the impact of such a ruling would not be confined to that sphere. That’s because Title VII isn’t the only federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of sex. Another one is Title IX, which bans such discrimination in “any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

If the Supreme Court upholds the Seventh and Second Circuits, every federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex will eventually be re-interpreted to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

This will put a lot more than just bakers and florists in the crosshairs. The impact on Christian Colleges alone would be devastating.

The Supreme Court hasn’t agreed to hear cases on this issue yet, but I think it’s only a matter of time. I called the Jack Phillips case a wake-up call for any Christian church or pastor who decided to sit out that challenge to religious freedom. Well, put on the coffee, folks. There are plenty more on the way.

BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.

John Stonestreet, the host of The Point, a daily national radio program, provides thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

Tweets

Recent Photos

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Freedom

"Freedom" like life is fragile and delicate and can be ended without warning or fanfare or gradually like the sands of time.
Frank Neudecker

Kitty’s Place Very Comfortable 4 Blocks from Beach, 2 Blocks from Bay

Kitty's Place
Would you like to visit someplace nice... maybe just the two of you. Kitty's home is 5 years old, beautifully furnished, very family oriented. To Kitty your stay is important in that they strive to provide you with everything you need for your vacation or time away to relax.
Furnished with amenities for you to enjoy your vacation and fun in the sun. Very hospitable atmosphere, great beach, amusement parks only miles away, and shopping at a great Outlet Mall only minutes away. Newly installed above ground pool. Minutes to the famous Ft. Morgan. Great sunsets, beautiful waters, white sandy beaches. Very relaxing, very enjoyable.
Kitty's home is dog friendly and has it's own pool.
Email her at kittystuart65@gmail.com
You will love it.

What we stand For

There is one constant pledge that we live by and it is that our American Government is founded on the concept of the individuality and the dignity of the human being.
Underlying this concept is the belief that the human person is important because he was created by God and endowed by Him with certain unalienable rights which no civil authority may usurp.
The inclusion of God in our pledge or our money or in our courts and buildings further acknowledge the dependence of our people and our Government upon the moral directions of the Creator, our Father, the Lord God Almighty.
This is the principal of government and reporting that we stand by....

FAIR USE NOTICE:

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www. law. cornell. edu/uscode/17/107. shtml“